CAMP BUERHING, Kuwait -- Six noncommissioned officers and six Soldiers competed for top honors during 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division's, Soldier and NCO of the Year Board at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, May 11.
The NCO's and Soldiers from across 3rd ABCT, 4th Inf. Div., were challenged mentally and physically during the competition which included an Army Physical Fitness Test, various timed warrior skills and battle drills and concluded with a board on general Army and military knowledge.
Sgt. Jaime L. Pilcher and Spc. Sasha A. Rogers, healthcare specialists, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 588th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, came out on top as the brigade's Soldier and NCO of the year, respectively.
"Having prepared and studied as much as I could, I feel excited and honored to have won," Rogers said. "Now I get to represent the entire brigade at the next competition."
Pilcher was also grateful about winning the event and said, "To win meant the world to me and I look forward to competing at the next level."
The competition was held to select the most tactically and technically proficient Soldier and NCO. The winners will proceed to represent 3rd ABCT, 4th Inf. Div., in the U.S. Army Central Soldier and NCO of the Year Board.
Phase one of the brigade's competition began with an Army Physical Fitness Test which measured and tested the muscular endurance of the participants in three events: push-ups, sit-ups and a timed two-mile run. While 300 points is the normal, maximum score allowed for record tests, the competition allowed for an extended scale to see who really was the fittest of the fit.
"I would have to say the desert heat was my biggest enemy for that event," said Pilcher, who ran his two-miles in 13 minutes and 38 seconds.
Phase two tested the competitor's knowledge and experience with warrior tasks and battle drills. The round-robin style test of common skills included land navigation tasks, communications equipment tasks, reacting to chemical attacks, calling in a nine-line MEDEVAC request, calling for fire support, and reacting to an M9 Beretta malfunction, as well as many others.
"Nothing was particularly difficult or vastly out of our realm of knowledge as Soldiers," added Rogers. "It was all about knowing the basics, but remembering all of my training was the difficult part especially getting the correct steps in the correct order."
The final phase of the competition concluded with an oral-based board consisting of five battalion command sergeants major and Command Sgt. Maj. Todd Sims, command sergeant major, 3rd ABCT, 4th Inf. Div., the president of the board. Each Soldier and NCO candidate demonstrated their confidence, military understanding and bearing while being tested on their ability to articulate their knowledge and respond to a rapid-fire set of questions from the board members.
"I did my best to stay calm and not tense up," Pilcher said. "When I finally sat down and got through about 10 consecutive correctly answered questions, I felt that I was in a rhythm. When I was released from the board and exited the room, I was overcome with a sense of relief. Not because I felt like I had won, but because the questions I got wrong were because I just didn't know the answers."
Sgt. 1st Class Randi E. White, medical platoon sergeant, HHC, 588th BEB, 3rd ABCT, 4th Inf. Div., said she consistently strives to instill military occupational specialty pride into her medics.
"We [medics] have a higher calling than most and cannot afford to be mediocre," White said. "Sgt. Pilcher and Spc. Rogers simply proved that success is no accident, because if you work harder and study more than everyone else, you'll eventually come out on top."
While winning the Soldier and NCO of the Year Board at the brigade combat team level is quite a feat, Rogers and Pilcher are seeking more.
"Winning the brigade's board was the goal," Pilcher said. "A huge weight has been lifted and I look forward to the next board with enthusiasm."
Rogers said, "I am definitely looking forward to the next competition. I know it's going to be tough, but I am setting out to prove that I am tougher."
This Soldier and NCO of the Year Board was unique in the sense that 3rd ABCT, 4th Inf. Div., is currently deployed to Kuwait promoting peace, partnership and stability throughout the region.
3rd ABCT, 4th Inf. Div., would like to congratulate the winners as well as all of the participants for their hard work and dedication to the brigade, its mission and for being a part of a successful and competitive event.
The participants were as follows: Sgt. Kevin Gutierrez, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, Sgt. Tyler Kurtz 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, Sgt. Jaime Pilcher, 588th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Sgt. Garrison Porquez, 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, Sgt. Francine Tulley , 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, Cpl. Michael Wilson, 64th Brigade Support Battalion, Spc. Patrick Alcocer, 64th Brigade Support Battalion, Spc. Gabriel Brower, 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, Spc. Edward Duenas, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, Spc. Michelle Myers, 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment and Spc. Sasha Rogers, 588th Brigade Engineer Battalion.
Social Sharing